Nice Ending

I wrote in my column the other day about a Palmerton area couple who lost their cairn terrier, Duncan, in the deadly explosion and fire at Pazzazz Pet Boarding kennel in Franklin Township. Fuel delivery driver Timothy Kleinhagen was critically injured, and 18 dogs were killed or fatally injured.

Dave and Mary Lou McGeehan had dropped Duncan off there for the weekend just a few hours before the explosion. They discovered what had happened when they returned from an overnight stay in Philadelphia. Dave wrote me a nice tribute to Duncan, and I based the column on it.

I’ve heard from several people who wanted to do something to help the couple and to answer their call for contributions to the kennel owners. I’m happy to report a positive ending to the McGeehans’ story:

Bill and Louise Cosgrove of Lower Macungie Township have been providing a foster home for a cairn terrier that was dumped on a local farm. They already had two West Highland terriers of their own when they took in the dog they called Biscuit. He arrived in mid-February, and Bill Cosgrove said he had hoped they might be able to keep him, although his wife felt two dogs were enough. In any event, they wanted to reduce the dog's stress level and give him the attention he needed.

Bill and the three dogs were waiting with him for his granddaughter to arrive on the school bus one day last week when the bus stopped and the driver yelled something about that day’s newspaper and a cairn terrier. He went inside, checked The Morning Call’s Web site and found my column. He felt the hand of God at work in the conjunction between the McGeehans' loss and his visitor.

He said, “When I saw that the McGeehans had lost their cairn terrier in this tragic situation, I thought, ‘Gosh, I want this dog, but I don’t need him, and the McGeehans do need him.”

After some soul-searching, he called them.

As it happens, the McGeehans already had decided to get another dog and had begun checking with cairn rescue organizations. Dave explained, “I’ve always had a dog, so why wait? We could grieve while we had a new dog.”

They drove to the Cosgrove house Friday afternoon, met the dog and brought him home. Dave said the new arrival has been spending a lot of time on their laps, which is OK with them. That’s him in the picture above.

Dave said they won’t decide on a permanent name until they know more about the dog’s personality. What he does know is: “It was very nice of this guy to do this.”

Bill said he hopes the story will encourage more people to get involved in rescue and foster work. Certainly it made him feel good.

“The looks on their faces when they arrived at our house and saw Biscuit were priceless,” he wrote. “I thank the Lord above that I had Biscuit for as long as I did and that he was here to help heal the McGeehans’ anguish.”

The best ending to all this would be positive news about the condition of driver Timothy Kleinhagen. But in the meantime, it’s nice to know that people are reaching out to help one another.